Toy water jet plane

ABSTRACT

THE PRESENT INVENTION RELATES TO A TOY WATER JET PLANE COMPRISING A TOY BODY FLOATING ON THE WATER INTO WHICH AIR AND WATER ARE CONCURRENTLY INTRODUCED THROUGH A FLUID PASSAGEWAY PENETRATING THERETHROUGH, AND A JETTING MEANS CONSISTING OF A MOTOR AND SCREW FOR STIRRING AIR AND WATER TO FORM AIR BUBBLES AND EJECTING BUBBLE-CARRYING WATER STREAMS REARWARD OF THE FLUID PASSAGEWAY THEREBY TO CAUSE THE ENTIRE TOY TO TRAVEL OVER THE WATER SURFACE.

Jan. 19, 1971 HIDETO FURUOKA 3,555,721

TOY WATER JET PLANE Filed July 11, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1:

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United States Patent Office 3,555,721 TOY WATER JET PLANE Hideto Furuoka, Tokyo, Japan, assignor to Gakken Company Limited, Tokyo, Japan, a corporation of Japan Filed July 11, 1968, Ser. No. 744,168 Claims priority, application Japan, Oct. 9, 1967, 42/ 85,786 Int. Cl. A63h 23/06 US. Cl. 46-95 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a toy water jet plane comprising a toy body floating on the water into which air and water are concurrently introduced through a fluid passageway penetrating therethrough, and a jetting means consisting of a motor and screw for stirring air and water to form air bubbles and ejecting bubble-carrying water streams rearward of the fluid passageway thereby to cause the entire toy to travel over the water surface.

The present invention relates to a toy water jet plane which comprises a toy body floating on the water and a jetting means for driving the entire toy on the water.

Generally, toys running on the water take the form of a ship, for example, a motor boat, merchant vessel or warship. These toys have a screw exposed to the water at tue stern of a ship, and produces a driving force by rotating the screw using a motor operable with a dry cell. Since the aforementioned construction involves a screw exposed outside of the toy body, its shape is necessarily limited to that of a ship. The reason is that if the toy is formed into the shape of an airplane and yet propelled on the Water with a screw force, then it would present an entirely different aspect from what is actually observed.

The object of the present invention is to provide a toy water jet plane which has a screw housed within the body and produces a driving force by a jetting means for ejecting from the body water streams containing air bubbles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a toy water jet plane, which is formed into the shape of an air navigating body, for example, a jet plane or a rocket due to the provision of a jetting means such as a jet engine in the body thereof.

According to this invention, there is provided a toy Water jet plane characteristically comprising a toy body whose upper section rises above the water level, having a fluid passage way open at the rear end penetrating therethrough and air supply means and water supply means communicating with the fluid passage way, and a jetting means housed in the fluid passage way having a motor and screw, whereby air and water are stirred by the screw rotation in the fluids passage way to form air bubbles and bubble-carrying water streams are ejected by the screw rotation rearward of the toy body thereby to propel the entire toy water jet plane over the water surface.

According to the present invention, the fluid passage way is generally built in the interior of the rear part of the body. The air supply means is positioned on the top surface of the body and the water supply means on the side thereof. Although the water supply means disposed at the part of the body, where half the means is immersed in the water, can concurrently act as an air supply means, the provision of a separate air supply means will even in this case improve the generation of bubbles.

Depending on the shape of the body, the fluid passage way may be built at the end part of the right and left segments of a wing projecting crosswise from the body 3,555,721 Patented Jan. 19, 1971 instead of in the body itself. Also air supply may be carried out by means of a pipe.

For increased effect, the toy of the present invention may be provided with a lamp at the outlet of a fluid passage way running through the body, from which bubble-containing water streams gush out. With this construction, it will be possible to cause the body seemingly to emit flames by making the light from a lamp enclosed in a red-coloured translucent case rapidly flicker due to the intermittent obstruction by bubble-carrying water jets.

While it is possible to select for the toy body any desired form, for example, that of an airplane, rocket, ship, submarine, automobile or water animal, it is most preferable for the body to take the form of a jet plane.

Where the toy body is shaped like, for example, a jet plane, the aforementioned construction will cause the toy to present a scene as if a jet plane were dashing on the water while sending forth flames and render it a very attractive article impressing the observer with a full sense of actuality. Even where the toy of the present invention assumes other forms than that of a jet plane, the fact that it swiftly flits over the water while vigorously sending forth bubbles has a definite advantage of increasing visual attractiveness over a conventional Water navigating toy merely driven by a screw.

The present invention will be more clearly understood from the description of embodiments thereof taken by reference to the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plane view of a toy-water jet plane with a part broken away;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the toy water I jet plane of FIG. 1 taken on the central line thereof;

FIG. 3 is a back view from the rear part of the toy water jet plane of FIG. 1, from which the wing member has been taken off;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view on the central line of another embodiment of the toy water jet plane; and

FIG. 5 is a front elevation of the toy water jet plane of FIG. 4.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the reference numeral 10 represents the entire toy water jet plane according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The toy water jet plane 10 comprises a body 12 shaped like that of a jet plane, a jetting means .14 fitted to the body 12 and a power source 15 for supplying electrical energy to the jetting means 14. The body 12 has a hollow fuselage 16 open at the rear end, a single wing member 18 mounted on both sides of the fuselage 16, whose right and left segments are projected in a slight downward inclination crosswise from both sides of the fuselage 16, and hollow floats 20 fitted to the upper side of the end of each wind segment. The fuselage 16 is perforated at the top with a hole 22 for conducting air into it and on both sides with holes 24 for introducing water. To the fuselage 16 there are also fixed guides 26 covering said holes 24 with an opening at the fore end in a manner to enclose said holes 24. The somewhat hemispherical head 28 at the foremost end of the fuselage .16 is so designed as to be attached thereto by the use of a bonding material in a water-tight condition after a cylindrical guide 30 has been inserted into the fuselage 16.

The rear outer circumferential surface of the conical guide 30 is fitted to the inner circumferential surface of the fuselage 16, and the fore part of said guide is formed into a section of smaller diameter which projects into the compartment 34 of the fuselage 16. On the rear inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical guide 30 there are integrally provided a plurality of ribs 36 inwardly projecting in the radial direction. The jetting means is so positioned as to be securely held by the longitudinal edges of. the ribs 36.

The jetting means 14 consists of a cylindrical case 38, a midget motor 40 operable by a dry cell connected thereto and a screw 42 fitted to the motor axle extending through one end face of the case 38. The longitudinal edge of each rib 36 is bonded to the outer circumferential surface of the case 38. In such arrangement, the screw 42 is positioned in the center of the small diameter section 32 of the cylindrical guide 30. Between the outer circumferential surface of the case 38 and the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical guide 30, as well as between the respective ribs 36 there are formed fluid passage ways 44 (refer to FIG. 3.) To the rear end face of the case 38 there is fitted coaxially a translucent red-coloured cylindrical member 46 (in this embodiment integrally with the case 38). In the cylindrical member 46 is disposed a lamp 48. Referring to the power source 15, it comprises a box 50 containing dry cells 52, which are connected to the motor 40 and the lamp 48 by a lead Wire 54. The electric circuit formed by the lead wire 54 is so arranged to be operated by a switch 56 provided in the box 50.

In the aforementioned arrangement, the power source 15, namely, the dry cells 52 are separately provided from the toy body 12. In this case there is provided a sufliciently long lead wire connecting the toy water jet plane and the power source to allow the toy to travel over a certain expanse of the water surface. However, the dry cells 52 may be enclosed in the toy body 12 itself as in another embodiment of FIGS. 4 and bearing the reference numeral 100, wherein the toy body is denoted by 102.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the toy body .102 comprises the fore and rear sections. The fore section has a wide-mouthed cylindrical form slightly tapering toward the part at which the rear section starts. In the central part of the fore section is disposed a power source member 114, namely, a rectangular cylindrical housing enclosing dry cells, and having a circular flange at its open top end with a sufliciently broad free space allowed on both sides of the power source member 114 for easy introduction of water. The rear section of the toy body 102 is shaped into a circular cylinder, in which is positioned a jetting means 110 of the same construction as that in 14 of the preceding embodiment, similarly allowing a free space for the passage of water, though much narrower than in the fore section. On the top of the toy body 102 there is mounted a single wing member 105 whose right and left segments are projected in a slight downward inclination crosswise from both sides of the toy body .102. To the central part of the right and left segments of the wing member 105 respectively there is attached a float 106.

On the upper and lower inner surfaces respectively of the fore section of the toy body 102 there is integrally formed a pair of ribs. The power source member 114, namely, a rectangular cylindrical housing enclosing dry cells is securely set in place by being fitted between the opposing inside surfaces of each pair of ribs (not shown). On the inner surface of the rear section of the toy body 102 there are integrally formed a plurality of ribs 108 at equal intervals, the longitudinal end face of each of these ribs being tightly attached to the outer circumferential surface of the jetting means 110. On the inside of the rear end of the aforesaid rectangular cylindrical dry cell housing 114 are provided terminals 118 which connect the power source with the midget motor of the jetting means 110 and the lamp enclosed in a coloured (for example, in red) translucent cylindrical member exposed outside of the toy body 102 the dry cells 120 are disposed one atop another so as to cause the end faces thereof to be attached to the terminals 118. On the outer circumferential surface of the flange of the dry cell housing 114 there is formed an annular groove 122, and there is fitted to said outer surface a conical cap 126 by engaging the annular groove 122 with the annular projection 124 formed on the inside of the bottom periphery of the cap. The cap 126 is made of flexible plastic material and can be engaged with the dry cell housing 114 rotatably and in a water-tight condition.

To the inside of the tapered end of the conical cap 126 there is fitted one end of a coil spring 128, and the other end thereof to an insulation disk 130 slidably fitted in parallel to the open plane of the dry cell housing 114. On the outer side of the disk 130 is mounted a conduction plate 134 having contact points 132 formed at both ends, so that when the cap 126 is fully rotated for fitting the contact points 132 are brought into contact with the end faces of the dry cells 120 thereby to establish an electric circuit.

Further to improve the visual appeal of the toy body 102, there is formed on the top of the wing member 104 a pilot room 136 enclosed in a cover 135, the fore part of which is made of transparent material. Air is introduced into the interior of the toy body 102 by passing through a hole perforated in the rear opaque part of the cover 135, the interior of the pilot room 136 and a hole 140 bored in the top surface of the toy body 102. In the front part of the pilot room 136 is placed a model 142 resembling a pilot.

Also to the underside of the rear end of the toy body 102 is fitted a support plate 146, to which is rotatably attached a rudder 148 by the aid of an axle 150.

There will now be described the operation of a toy water jet plane 10 of the present invention by reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the toy water jet plane 10 can be floated on the surface 200 by the buoyancy of the floats 20. In this case, an approximately half portion of the water introducing means 24 is immersed in the water. The buoyancy of the floats 20 is designed to ensure that air can always be supplied to the top surface of the small diameter section 32 of the cylindrical guide 30 through the water introducing means 24 and the hole 22 of the fuselage 16.

Under the aforementioned condition, the switch 56 of the box 50 is closed to introduce power into the midget motor 40 for the rotation of the screw 42 of the jetting means 40 and the illumination of the lamp 48. The rotation of said screw 42 stirs air and water in the small diameter section 32 of the cylindrical guide 30 to produce air bubbles 201. Water streams containing the bubbles 201 are ejected rearward through the fluid passage ways 44 thereby to propel the toy water jet plane 10. Also when the bubbles 201 released from the fluid passage ways 44 pass over the circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 46 they intermittently obstruct the red light from the lamp 48 so as to make it flicker. The flickering of the red light causes the toy water jet plane 10 apparently to send forth flames.

The operation of the toy water jet plane of FIGS. 4 and 5 is substantially the same as that of the toy 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2. With the toy water jet plane 100, when the cap 126 is rotated through 90 degrees to attach the contact points 132 to each dry cell 120, the midget motor 111 will be rotated and the lamp 113 will be energized through wires 116. The water carried through the water introducing holes 104 into the toy body 102 and the air sucked into said body 102 through the holes 138 and 140 are stirred by the screw of the jetting means 110, and spurted from the rear part of the toy body 102 thereby to cause the entire toy water jet plane to travel on the water H surface.

All the foregoing embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 5 relate to to the case where there is provided a single jetting means for the toy body. However, it is, of course, permissible to fit a plurality thereof. Further depending on the shape of the body, it is possible to omit the lamp provided at the rear part of the jetting means.

The present invention is not restricted by the abovedescribed embodiments, but obviously includes any modifications or alterations which fall within the scope of the, invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A toy water jet plane, comprising; an elongated hollow floating body having a substantially closed front end and an opening adjacent the rear end thereof and having an upper portion which rests above water level and a lower portion resting below Water level, means for intake of both air and water on the outside of said body extending across the water line between said upper and lower portions, separate air intake means in said upper portion, motor-driven water and air stirring and jetting means mounted within said body rearwardly of said air and Water intake means to receive said water and air and to vigorously intermix the same and eject the resulting bubble containing stream rearwardly out of said body rear end opening to propel the toy, and illuminating means mounted within said body in the path of the ejected flow to illuminate the bubbles within said stream.

2. A toy according to claim 1, including a lamp cover for the illuminating means, wherein the bubble-carrying water is jetted along the circumferential surface of said lamp cover of the illuminating means.

3. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said body is a substantially cylindrical plastic fuselage; a substantially cylindrical Watertight compartment, Within said fuselage, coaxial therewith, and at the rear thereof; said stirring and jetting means comprising a shaft, projecting from said watertight compartment into the main body of the fuselage; a screw propeller carried on the outer end of said shaft; a battery driven motor in said compartment driving said shaft; and, said illuminating means including lead lines engaged by said battery driving said motor.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,046,697 7/1962 Pullen 46243MV FOREIGN PATENTS 1,109,501 1955 France 46--94 ROBERT PESHOCK, Primary Examiner 

